


Remember When

by she_who_the_river_could_not_hold



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Drabble, F/M, Post-Canon, not quite angst, not quite fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 16:51:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13663233
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/she_who_the_river_could_not_hold/pseuds/she_who_the_river_could_not_hold
Summary: It's the summer before their junior year of high school and the party is desperately trying to find a way to pass the time. However the quarry has its own memories tied to it, leaving Mike Wheeler to come to terms with the events in his life that have lead him there.





	Remember When

**Author's Note:**

> requested by 1friendsdontlie1 and originally posted on tumblr → "something about the party going down to the quarry during the summer"

The summers in Hawkins, Indiana are hot. Like really hot. The heat sticks to you the second you walk outside and there’s a constant buzzing in the air, a symphony of crickets, humidity, and the crackling of the air as it waits for the almost routine summer storm that’s going to roll through at any given moment. 

 

And the summer of 1988 is no exception.

 

It’s the summer before their junior year of high school and the party is trying to fully take in their time off before what everyone says is going to be their hardest year of school. Which for today, means taking a picnic down over to the quarry and spending the day escaping the heat in the water.

 

Lucas had turned sixteen first, subsequently making him their designated chauffeur (and relieving Steve of his duties). So it was his car, a 1985 Buick Station Wagon, that was making its way across the gravely roads to their destination.

 

“Lucas the back window still isn’t rolling down.”

 

“Dustin. Dude. I know, you’ve said it five times now.”

 

“You might want to get it checked out before I die of a heatstroke.”

 

“I’ll try to unjam it when we get to the quarry,” Max offered, giving Lucas a reassuring squeeze on his knee before casting a glare back at Dustin. There wasn’t too much behind it though, the two of them known for their bickering before falling back into teasing literally everyone else in the group.

 

The car finally pulled up to their usual parking spot and the party rolled out of the car. Max and Lucas stepped out and stretched comfortably, while the other four tumble out from the back where they had been squished.

 

Mike groaned, shaking out his legs. 

 

“Next time I’m sitting in the trunk, I’m way too tall to have to sit in the back seat,” he complained.

 

Lucas narrowed his eyes at him, “No way buddy. That’s dangerous what happens if I hit a bump?”

 

“Then don’t hit a bump,” Mike responded with a clap to his friend’s back as he went to help grab the picnic supplies from the back.

 

As the group eventually made their way down the steep pathway to the sandy bank down at the water, Mike felt himself slowing down. It had been almost five years since everything in his life had changed and even after all this time, the ghosts of those events still occasionally ran across his mind. 

 

El was walking just ahead of him and when she realized that her boyfriend had fallen back. She turns and looks back at him, pushing her sunglasses up into her already tangled curls in the heat. He gave her a soft smile, taking in the transformation she had undergone. While she was still small, she had outgrown her malnourished thinness and had been deemed by Hopper’s doctor to be at a healthy weight for her age. Her hair fell in curls to her shoulders, though she never let it get too long too used to it being short. The multiple summers with the party had left her tan and given her scrapes and scars that were finally originated from fun memories. That was another ghost that sometimes flitted through Mike’s mind, those first memories with her back when she was just Eleven. 

 

But now she’s El, or Janie to those at school, and now she’s smiling at him and walking back to grab his hand. 

 

“You okay?” She asks in her usual soft voice, reaching up and tucking a sweaty curl behind his ear.

 

He nods, looking back out at the quarry. 

 

“Remember when you saved my life?” Mike attempts to say it in a joking manner but if El’s tightening of her grip on his hand is any indication, he maybe didn’t do the best job at it.

 

“Yeah, well I had to save your life because you decided to risk it to save Dustin’s,” she reminded him with a nudge. “So really it all comes full circle.” 

 

The two look at their friends up ahead. Dustin is giving Will a piggyback ride and apparently is attempting to see if he can run down the hill while still balancing him. Will lets out a loud whoopand waves back at the rest of the party. Lucas and Max are doing a crab-like walk with the cooler between the two of them, sparring about something but unable to avoid the laughter in their voices. 

 

Mike feels a flood of thankfulness wash through him. For the friends he’s had his whole life and for the new ones along the way. He ducks down and steals a kiss on El’s cheek, before tugging her along. 

 

“Come on, let’s catch up with the others!” 

 

The ghosts are gone now, in their place warmth and sunshine. The hand of the girl he loves is tight in his grasp and their laughter blends in with the sounds of summer. Soon they’re splashing into the water to cool down, Max immediately insisting on a game of chicken. Then they’ll tire out and collapse onto their towels before diving into their food.

 

As Mike looks around, the water sparkles in the sun and trees rustle in the breeze that has thankfully started up. It’s a far cry from the night he thought he was watching Will’s body being pulled from the depths, whereas now he’s fishing out a bag of chips as he laughs at Max telling a story. Dustin is safe, all teeth where they should be as he doubles over in laughter. And El is beside him, the water droplets on her glistening as she lays out to dry, her nose buried in one of her romance novels. 

 

Mike smiles to himself as he rolls over on his towel. Maybe this upcoming school year is going to be hard, but right now he really can’t imagine anything could make life more perfect, bumps in the journey included.


End file.
